PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — University of Maine System Chancellor James Page was the guest speaker April 11 during a Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce breakfast held at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Campus Center. Page spoke on the topic “The University of Maine System: Challenges and Opportunities.”
UMPI President Linda Schott shared CACC President Stacey Shaw’s enthusiasm in being a part of the breakfast, which drew more than 60 business and municipal leaders from throughout central Aroostook County.
Sam Collins, who serves on the UMS Board of Trustees, had the honor of introducing Page.
“We’re really fortunate in the County and for the UMS to have a chancellor who’s a native Mainer and understands Maine issues. He’s also a native of the County,” said Collins, a Caribou native. “We’re proud to have Jim as chancellor in moving UMS forward.”
Collins said Page has been engaged with students, families and constituents of Maine since taking office.
“He’s held tuition rates flat for the next couple years,” said Collins, noting Page continues to work with the state’s legislature with regard to UMS funding for the future.
Page began by reflecting on growing up in Caribou and the impact UMS Cooperative Extension has had in the region and the state. He said cooperation and partnerships between the many UMS campuses, communities and families were necessary for future success. He spoke of the top priorities trustees have set, including three key factors: the economy and affordable education, growing the population and improving methods of delivering education.
“Trustees’ No. 1 priority for UMPI and her sister campuses include providing affordable, quality education. That’s why we froze tuition. We drew the line and agreed for three years to not put an extra burden on our students and their families,” said Page. “It’s a start but still not sufficient.”
Next, he discussed Maine’s “challenging demographics.”
“What’s going on here isn’t unique to Maine. Maine saw more than 10,000 high school grads last year. That’s less than New York City. Deaths outstrip births. In-migration only saw about 800 people move to Maine,” said Page, noting Maine averages about 38 births a day, while a hospital in a major California community sees that number of births every two days.
“That fact has enormous ramifications for the economic future of the state,” he said. “If we’re going to offer our family and young people a chance, we have to provide a quality education and career opportunities.”
Page said while many students pursue higher education, many opt out and don’t return.
“We have to — if we truly serve the people and want to advance education — assess and find out how to get them back. We can’t do that without engaging everyone up to retirement age,” said Page.
“The good news is there’s a revolution under way in how education can be delivered, through such things as MOOC — massive online open courses,” said Page, as he told of one professor who had put a course online and ended up with 160,000 enrolled.
Page said UMPI’s MOOCs have been well-received. He said such offerings allow campuses to compete not just among themselves but with campuses across the U.S. and beyond.
“We’re dealing with students who have never not known the Internet. How we convert the deluge of data makes the role of education ever more critical,” he said. “You have all the data, the question is how to use it and move forward.”
Page said technology advancements have resulted in job opportunities “becoming ever more education-oriented.”
“Mini MOOCs are one example of what’s being done to meet educational needs,” said Page.
Page said the UMS has a “wider responsibility to engage in active citizenry, providing training for careers and teaching critical thinking to solve the problems communities have.”
“One of the biggest challenges for incoming employees is the ability to communicate clearly with fellow workers, in order to engage and solve problems,” said Page.
In addition to freezing tuition, Page said efforts continue to ensure students can transfer credits between institutes of higher learning.
“We offer a system-wide comprehensive credit transfer program. This doesn’t penalize students for changing campuses,” said Page.
Incentives have also been approved by trustees, allocated to campuses as they meet certain goals.
Page said there are jobs in Maine that remain unfilled because of the lack of qualified employees.
“We have a commitment to double the number of computer science degrees. They’ll (the businesses in need of qualified workers) will move out of Maine if they can’t fill those positions,” said Page.
The chancellor stressed the importance of partnerships between communities and the UMS.
“We must, as the UMS, actively engage communities. What we need to prosper is to offer opportunities. We need public engagement and an active partnership for internships,” Page said. “We need to break down walls on a statewide basis. That’s the only way we’ll move the state, towns and families forward is to work in partnership.”
Page concluded with a question-and-answer period, discussing various topics, including: the role of research and developing in northern Maine (a reference to the collaboration between NMCC and UMPI with regard to the wind turbine as an educational tool), pest research and the Cooperative Extension’s work with local agricultural entities, and the importance of attracting international students to Maine campuses as a way to boost enrollment.